Instructional Technology and More…

Makerspace R & D

Since my last post and thanks to Laura Fleming’s Worlds of Making, I’ve been able to gather additional information and insight on creating the Makerspace I envision. As mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to devote some thought towards why such a space is needed and important and how I would articulate this to a community. One thing I tend to do is wait until something is perfected before sharing it – totally contrary to the idea of a Makerspace. Makerspaces are all about creating safe spaces to risk and fail forward. In that same spirit, I have come up with the following mission for this space:

“To cultivate a community of learners, who are open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives, cross-generational learning and shared learning experiences through material goods. Learners of all ages are welcome.”

After giving this some thought, I set about with some of the more easier planning considerations, such as location, budget and supplies, programming and advertising, among a range of other things, which I hope to cover in later posts… Laura’s book shared so many useful resources to assist me during this phase.

An essential, but often overlooked component is that of community engagement. Engaging the members of your community will not only be important to launching such a space, but will contribute to its longevity and community influence. Part of my planning involved creating an informal committee of students who helped to shape what they wanted to see in such a space. Students were involved throughout the process from advertisement and community engagement , to having them brainstorm what projects they would like to work on in the space. The students even created a survey to come up with a name for our venture. Exciting times!